Methods and structures for thin-film encapsulation and co-integration of same with microelectronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (mems)

ABSTRACT

Methods and structures that may be implemented in one example to co-integrate processes for thin-film encapsulation and formation of microelectronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as sensors and actuators. For example, structures having varying characteristics may be fabricated using the same basic process flow by selecting among different process options or modules for use with the basic process flow in order to create the desired structure/s. Various process flow sequences as well as a variety of device design structures may be advantageously enabled by the various disclosed process flow sequences.

This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 62/029,233, filed on Jul. 25, 2014 and entitled“Methods And Structures For Thin-Film Encapsulation And Co-IntegrationOf Same With Microelectronic Devices And Microelectromechanical Systems(MEMS)”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

The present application is related in subject matter toconcurrently-filed patent application Ser. No. ______ entitled “MembraneTransducer Structures and Methods of Manufacturing Same Using Thin-FilmEncapsulation” by Quevy et al., and to concurrently filed patentapplication Ser. No. ______ entitled “Trapped Sacrificial Structures andMethods of Manufacturing Same Using Thin-Film Encapsulation” by Quevy etal., each of which is filed on the same date as the present applicationand each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to semiconductor processing, and moreparticularly to thin-film encapsulation and co-integration of same withmicroelectronic devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

BACKGROUND

The term “MEMS” generally refers to an apparatus incorporating somemechanical structure having a dimensional scale that is comparable tomicroelectronic devices. Micro-scale fabrication techniques similar tothose utilized in the microelectronic industry such as thin filmdeposition, and thin film patterning by photolithography and reactiveion etching (RIE) form the micromechanical structure in a MEMS.

In the past, multi-layered, planar microshells have been used forencapsulation of devices such as MEMS and microelectronics.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are methods and structures for thin-film encapsulationthat may be further implemented in one embodiment to co-integrateprocesses for thin-film encapsulation and formation of microelectronicdevices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as sensors andactuators. In this way, structures having varying characteristics may befabricated in one embodiment using the same basic process flow byselecting among different process options or modules for use with thebasic process flow in order to create the desired structure/s.Embodiments of the disclosed methods and structures include, among otherthings, various process flow sequences as well as a variety of devicedesign structures that may be advantageously enabled by the variousprocess flow sequences.

The disclosed methods and structures may be implemented in oneembodiment using a process flow that allows thin-film microshellstructures to be defined in a manner that addresses challenges typicallyencountered with implementation of conventional thin microshellstructures. In this regard, a process flow may be employed in oneexemplary embodiment to form a vacuum cavity under a thin-filmmicroshell structure that has a smaller volume than a conventionalwafer-bonded cavity, while at the same time maintaining a level ofvacuum within the smaller volume microshell cavity that is equivalent orcomparable to the level of vacuum that is typically maintained within alarger volume of a conventional wafer-bonded cavity structure. Such aprocess flow may also be implemented in one exemplary embodiment tomaintain thin-film microshell vacuum cavity yield and robustness againstpost-encapsulation flows, included wafer processing and packaging flowswhich for example may exhibit high levels of pressure (e.g., greaterthan about 10 MPa) during the package molding process. Other advantagesover conventional microshell processing that may be realized by one ormore embodiments of the disclosed methods and structures includecompatibility of integration with higher thermal budget associated withadditional post-processing steps, as well as a level of device andproduct reliability (e.g., including long term stability) when exposedto environmental stresses that is comparable to the device and productreliability that is possible with conventional wafer-bonded cavitystructures.

In another embodiment, the disclosed methods and structures may beimplemented using a process flow to define thin-film microshellstructures in a manner that enables the co-integration and co-locationof sensors, actuators and other types of MEMS devices, while at the sametime leveraging some of the same process features and structuralelements for both microshell and different device structures. In oneexemplary embodiment, optional processing modules may be used tostrengthen a microshell structure and decouple the function of specificsteps. Even when implementation of these optional processing modulesresults in an increase in the number of process steps and/or patterningmasks, it also eases the integration and process requirements (e.g.,sidewall profile, CD, wafer uniformity, etc.).

For example, a patterning step on a single layer may be used to providetwo functions and have two different specification requirements. Sincethese specifications might be challenging to achieve with a singlepatterning step, the two functions may be separated out into differentsteps that may be independently tuned for the specific purpose, e.g., insome ways similar to a dual damascene process, where the same copperlayer is used for both routing and via connections. However, for amicroshell structure, it may be possible to achieve both functions withonly a single mask/patterning step.

Examples of possible exemplary and optional processing modules include,but are not limited to: formation of a lower (or inner) microshellbeneath an upper (or outer) microshell to provide a second layer ofsupport; forming a patterned version of an inner microshell to provideboth support and inner release holes for underlying structural devicesthat are offset from outer release holes formed in an overlying outermicroshell (e.g., offset inner release holes may be employed to reducethe restrictions on the outer shell release holes, thus increasing thenumber of release holes and reducing the release etch time); completelyenclosing a microshell structure getter layer (e.g., such as titanium)in oxide to protect it from attack from a release etchant such ashydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂); use of a hardmask (e.g., SiO₂) for sacrificialpatterning that may be used as a mold for creating a waffle-like supportlattice to reinforce a microshell structure (e.g., such a hardmask maybe added as an independent layer or may leverage the getter multi-layerstack mentioned above).

In one exemplary embodiment, a process flow may be provided that alsohas the capability of adding different process options so as to enableadditional functionalities and capabilities, e.g., including pressuresensors, ultrasonic transducers, relative humidity (RH) sensors,infrared (IR) sensors, optical modulators, etc. Such processing optionsmay be seamlessly inserted (or removed) without significantly impactingthe remaining steps. Examples of such process options include, but arenot limited to: use of a vertical sacrificial layer for ultrasonictransducers (e.g., a thin sacrificial layer may be placed over anexisting structural layer, such as SiGe, to create a small vertical gapto a microshell structure); patterning of a sealing material (e.g., suchas a sealing metal) on a microshell structure for pressure sensors, IRbolometers (e.g., the metal layer used to seal the microshell may bepatterned to allow for IR transmission and/or to control mechanicalproperties of the membrane); polyimide or other sacrificial layerpatterning for relative humidity sensors (e.g., polyimide may bedeposited and patterned to create a relative humidity sensor, oralternatively an existing polyimide sacrificial layer may be preservedand not removed in the sacrificial etch, so that it may be exposed atthis step).

In one respect, disclosed herein is a method of forming a microshellstructure, including: forming a first sacrificial layer over a MEMSregion and an underlying substrate, and removing a part of the firstsacrificial layer to leave one or more remaining portions of the firstsacrificial layer; forming a second sacrificial layer over the remainingportions of the first sacrificial layer, and removing a part of thesecond sacrificial layer to leave one or more remaining portions of thesecond sacrificial layer over at least a part of the remaining portionsof the first sacrificial layer; forming an upper microshell layer overthe remaining portions of the first and second sacrificial layers;creating one or more upper release holes in the upper microshell layer;removing at least a part of the remaining portions of the first and/orsecond sacrificial layers through the upper release holes to form one ormore open cavities or open areas under the upper microshell layer; andforming a sealing layer on the upper microshell layer to seal the upperrelease holes in the upper microshell layer.

In another respect, disclosed herein is a microshell structure,including: a lower microshell layer disposed over a MEMS region and anunderlying substrate; one or more lower release holes defined in thelower microshell layer; an upper microshell layer disposed over thelower microshell layer; one or more upper release holes defined in theupper microshell layer; one or more open cavities or open areas definedunder the upper microshell layer; and a sealing layer disposed on theupper microshell layer that seals the upper release holes in the uppermicroshell layer.

In another respect, disclosed herein is a microshell structure,including: an upper microshell layer disposed over a MEMS region and anunderlying substrate; at least one open cavity defined under the uppermicroshell layer; and one or more microshell support lattice membersthat extend downward from the underside of the upper micro shell layerinto the open cavity defined under the upper microshell layer.

In another respect, disclosed herein is a microshell structure,including: an upper microshell layer disposed over a MEMS region and anunderlying substrate, the MEMS region including a metallization layeroverlain by an electrically insulative material layer and a MEMSstructural layer above the electrically insulative material layer, and apad region with a pad opening to the metallization layer through theMEMS structural layer and the electrically insulative material; at leastone open cavity defined under the upper microshell layer; one or moreupper release holes defined in the upper microshell layer; an openingdefined through the upper microshell layer over the pad region to theMEMS metallization layer; and an electrically conductive sealing layerdisposed on the upper microshell layer that seals the upper releaseholes in the upper microshell layer, the electrically conductive sealinglayer contacting the metallization layer of the MEMS region through thepad opening to form a shadow mask conductive electrical pad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified cross-sectional view of differentexemplary structures and devices that may be fabricated according tovarious embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods

FIG. 2A illustrates a fabrication process flow according to oneexemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 2B illustrates a fabrication process flow according to oneexemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 2C illustrates a fabrication process flow according to oneexemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 2D illustrates a fabrication process flow according to oneexemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a vacuum encapsulateddevice structure according to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosedmethods and structures.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the underside of an uppermicroshell layer structure according to one exemplary embodiment of thedisclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a shadow mask pad structureaccording to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods andstructures.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a membrane transducerstructure according to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosed methodsand structures.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a trapped sacrificialstructure according to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosed methodsand structures.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a vacuum encapsulateddevice structure according to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosedmethods and structures.

FIG. 9A illustrates an overhead view showing a pattern of offsetmicroshell release holes according to one exemplary embodiment of thedisclosed methods and structures.

FIG. 9B illustrates cross-sectional views of offset microshell releaseholes according to one exemplary embodiment of the disclosed methods andstructures.

FIG. 10 illustrates a cross-sectional view showing the interactionbetween a molding tool and a spacer structure according to one exemplaryembodiment of the disclosed methods and structures.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified cross-sectional view of some of thedifferent exemplary structures and devices that may be fabricated, aloneor together, on a common die substrate 301 by selecting and usingvarious processing options of the same basic process flow according tothe disclosed systems and methods. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates avacuum encapsulated device structure 102 that includes a singlestructural layer microshell, a trapped sacrificial structure 104 (e.g.,for a relative humidity sensor), a membrane transducer structure 106,and a shadow mask pad structure 108. As will be described furtherherein, one or more of these and/or other exemplary structures may besimultaneously fabricated (e.g., on a common substrate 301) using commonprocessing features of a process flow and/or common structural elements.In this embodiment, whether or not optional layers are used, a processflow may be provided that allows co-location of different types ofdevice structures as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate themodular aspect of the disclosed process flows and the tradeoff betweencomplexity and flexibility that may be made by choosing between thedifferent process flows. It will be understood that in one embodiment,vacuum encapsulation is not necessary for any one or more of the abovestructures.

It will be understood that the particular illustrated process flows ofFIGS. 2A-2D are exemplary only, and that other combinations of fewer,additional, and/or alternative process steps may be employed. It willfurther be understood that each of the process flows of FIGS. 2A-2D maybe varied to accommodate a number of materials for each process step.Relative complexity of the process flow embodiments of FIGS. 2A-2D maybe ordered as follows (from most complex and most design flexibility toleast complex and least design flexibility): FIG. 2C (most complex andmost design flexibility) >FIG. 2D>FIG. 2A>FIG. 2B (least complex andleast design flexibility).

With regard to the following description of process flows of FIGS.2A-2D, Table 1 lists some of the exemplary materials and alternativematerials that may be employed for some of the different layersdescribed below to achieve the structures disclosed herein.

TABLE 1 Exemplary Material Examples of Other Layer Selection ExemplaryAlternatives Sacrificial 1 layer for Ge Amorphous Carbon (a-C) CMUTvertical gap (321) Sacrificial 1 layer (702) Polyimide Ge, oxide, a-CMicroshell 1 layer (850) SiGe Oxide, nitride, TiAl, Ge, multi-layer(metal stack) Sacrificial 2 layer (704) Polyimide Ge, oxide, a-C Getterlayer (334) Ti V, Zr, Ba Microshell 2 layer (350) SiGe nitride, TiAl, WVacuum seal layer (390) Al PVD materials (SiGe, other metals)

FIG. 2A illustrates one exemplary embodiment of process flow 200A forforming a single structural layer microshell with a relatively thin butrigid underlying cavity such as illustrated by the vacuum encapsulateddevice structure 102 of FIG. 1.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2A, steps 202 through 210 may be employed toform underlying integrated circuit (“IC”) and MEMS regions of thestructure of FIG. 1, e.g., using methodology such as described andillustrated in United States Patent No. 7,923,790, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirely for all purposes. In this regard,MEMS and IC portions may be completed using commonly known techniques,such as, but not limited to chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physicalvapor deposition (PVD), electroplating, chemical mechanicalplanarization (CMP), patterned and unpatterned etching by wet chemicalsor by reactive ion etching (RIE) plasmas. For example, FIG. 3illustrates IC and MEMS regions formed according to one exemplaryembodiment of steps 202-210. However, it will be understood that thedisclosed methods and structures may be implemented for a variety ofMEMS and microelectronics devices, and thus the formation of the MEMSand IC regions may vary substantially and therefore may deviatesignificantly from that depicted in FIG. 3.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, formation of the IC portion orregions may include the deposition of inter-layer dielectric (ILD) 302over substrate 301 by CVD and deposition of metallizations 303 and 307,e.g., by PVD or electroplating over substrate 301. Metallizations 303and 307 may be patterned lithographically and subsequently etched ormetallizations 303 and 307 may deposited in pre-formed trenches in ILD302 and subsequently delineated with chemical mechanical polishing (CMP)as in a common damascene metal interconnect process. Insulative layer ordielectric passivation layer 305 may be formed between metallizations303 and 307, e.g., by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) followed bychemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to planarize. These illustratedlayers represent the structures that may be found in one exemplaryembodiment in a microelectronics IC region, it being understood thatother IC region embodiments are possible. In one embodiment, the ICregion may rely on any commonly known microelectronic transistortechnology, such as, but not limited to MOSFET and bipolar junctiontransistors (BJT). In the practice of the disclosed system and methodsit will be understood that devices and other structures (e.g., such asvarious

MEMS devices and structures 102, 104, 106 and 108) may be integratedwith an IC region as shown, or in an alternate embodiment may be presentas discrete MEMS devices and other structures over a substrate 301.

Substrate 301 may be any commonly known semiconductor substrate, suchas, but not limited to, single crystalline silicon, germanium or asilicon/germanium layer doped with an appropriate charge carrier.Substrate 301 may alternatively be comprised of a III-V material such asbut not limited to gallium nitride, gallium phosphide, gallium arsenide,indium phosphide or indium antimonide. Moreover, substrate 301 maycomprise an insulating layer such as silicon dioxide or silicon nitrideembedded below a monocrystalline semiconductor layer to form, forexample, a silicon on insulator or germanium on insulator substrate.Bulk insulators, such as sapphire, quartz, and glass may also be used.

Still referring to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3, a MEMS structurallayer 315 may then be formed in one exemplary embodiment over the ICportion, e.g., using a damascene process. In general terms, a releaselayer (not shown) may be deposited, planarized, and etched with adesired pattern, e.g., to form blades or posts or other suitable ordesired features. In a particular embodiment, such a release layer maybe germanium deposited at a temperature of approximately 350° C. using alow pressure (LP) CVD process. Following the formation of the releaselayer, a MEMS structural layer 315 may then be deposited over therelease layer and planarized to expose the blades, posts or otherfeatures of the release layer and thereby separate the structural layerinto different segments. In a further embodiment, a dielectric material317 such as polyimide or other suitable dielectric material such asdescribed herein may be optionally deposited, patterned and etched priorto deposition of MEMS structural layer 315, e.g., to form selected areasof dielectric material 317 within MEMS structural layer 315 asillustrated herein. When present, such an optional dielectric material317 may be selected to have selective sacrificial and etchant materialproperties relative to other layers as may be needed for a givenapplication, such as for use in the area of release holes 380 and inlets715 described further herein. In a particular embodiment employing agermanium release layer, MEMS structural layer 315 may be an alloy ofsilicon and germanium deposited at a temperature of approximately 425°C. using an LPCVD process. After fabricating the IC and MEMS regions,the thin-film encapsulation fabrication processes described furtherherein may be used to form microshell and/or device structures which maybe incorporated at virtually any back end of line (BEOL) level of thetypical IC fabrication process.

Returning to FIG. 2A, in step 212 a relatively thin first sacrificiallayer may be deposited over MEMS structural layer 315 and then patternedand etched in step 214 to remove all but selected portions of thedeposited first sacrificial layer to create a mold that will ultimatelyresult in first cavity portion 320 (e.g., including peripheral openareas 320) and other open areas 323 when the first sacrificial layer islater removed as shown in FIG. 3. The first sacrificial layer may alsobe patterned and etched in step 212 to form other features in selectedareas of the first sacrificial layer to be used for forming desireddevices, e.g., such as a membrane transducer described later herein. Inone exemplary embodiment, thickness of first sacrificial layer may befrom about 0.5 μm to about 1 μm, although first sacrificial layerthicknesses of less than 0.5 μm and greater than 1 μm are also possible.

Next, in step 216, a relatively thicker second sacrificial layer may bedeposited on top of the first sacrificial layer, and then patterned andetched in step 218, e.g., to create the mold for second thicker cavityportions 324. In one exemplary embodiment, thickness of the secondsacrificial layer may be from about 5 μm to about 20 μm andalternatively from about 5 μm to about 15 μm, although first sacrificiallayer thicknesses of less than 5 μm and greater than 20 μm are alsopossible. As will be further described, both first and secondsacrificial layers may be subsequently removed to result in main cavitysections 330 of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3. In this regard, thedashed line extending across main cavity sections 330 in FIG. 3 servesto delineate the interface between the first and second sacrificiallayers after second sacrificial layer deposition in step 218 prior toremoval of the first and second sacrificial layers and deposition of anupper microshell layer 350 as described further herein. In one exemplaryembodiment, multiple sacrificial layers may be deposited and removed toform a larger main cavity section 330 that maximizes cavity volume so asto better maintain vacuum and allow more room for the completedmicroshell structure to flex.

In one exemplary embodiment, the first cavity portions 320 and secondcavity portions 324 may be formed to result in a multi-level cavity thatenables different functionality of the upper microshell layer 350 to becreated at different locations across the substrate 301, e.g., thethinner, first cavity portions 320 under microshell layer 350 may beused in one embodiment as a CMUT gap 321 for a membrane transducer 106such as pressure sensor or other type transducer, and the main cavitysections 330 (i.e., including combined areas of first and second cavityportions 320 and 324) may be used for vacuum encapsulation for a vacuumencapsulated device structure 102, such as a MEMS resonator formed inMEMS structural layer 315.

To achieve the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, the first and secondsacrificial layers may be of any suitable materials. For example, in oneexemplary embodiment the first sacrificial layer may be deposited instep 212 as any one or more of polyimide, oxide, germanium, amorphouscarbon, or other suitable sacrificial material, and then selectivelyetched after masking in step 214 using lithography and/or reactive ionetching (REI) to leave selected portions of the first sacrificial layerin areas corresponding to later-formed open areas 320 and 323 aspreviously described. The second sacrificial layer may then be depositedin this exemplary embodiment in step 216 as any one or more ofpolyimide, oxide, germanium, amorphous carbon, or other suitablesacrificial material, and then then selectively etched after masking instep 218 using lithography and/or REI to leave portions of the secondsacrificial material corresponding to the main cavity sections 330 ontop of the previously patterned first sacrificial layer portions ofareas 320, as well as to leave first sacrificial layer portions of areas323, which each are selectively not removed in step 218. It is notedthat selection of sacrificial material for each of first and secondsacrificial layers may be made, among other things, based on at leasttwo factors: dimensioning limits (e.g., thickness, critical dimension“CD”, etc.) and material compatibility with other processes (e.g.,processing temperature, glass transition temperature, decompositiontemperature, etc.)

Next, in step 220, an optional residual gas getter layer 334 may bedeposited (e.g., to a thickness of from about 0.1 μm to about 1 μm(alternatively about 0.3 μm) or any other suitable greater or lesserthickness) on top of the patterned first and second sacrificial layersin order to scavenge or otherwise remove contaminants from open areas320, 323 and main cavity sections 330, including contaminants leftbehind from the etch of the first and/or second sacrificial layers aftertheir removal, contaminants emitted by materials of the microshell layer350, etc. In this regard, getter layer 334 may be configured to capturemolecules, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, oxides ofcarbon, methane, etc. from within sections of areas 320, 323 and 330after removal of first and second sacrificial layers. Examples ofsuitable materials for use as getter layer 334 include, but are notlimited to, titanium, aluminum, vanadium, zirconium, barium-basedcompounds, etc. An optional oxide-based protective layer may be formedon the cavity-side surface of the getter layer 334 to preventsacrificial etchants from prematurely damaging the getter layer 334during patterning. In one embodiment, such protective layer may be anoxide of silicon of silicon, such as silicon dioxide (SiO₂), or othermaterial that provides good selectivity to etchants of the first andsecond sacrificial layers. For example, a protective oxide layer hasgood selectivity to oxygen plasma that may be employed for etchingpolyimide or amorphous carbon sacrificial layers, polyimide has goodselectivity to vapor HF or liquid HF etchants that may be employed foretching silicon dioxide sacrificial layers, and many protectivematerials have good selectivity to peroxide that may be employed foretching germanium sacrificial layers, etc. Further information on getterlayer configuration and materials for protecting getter layers may befound in U.S. Pat. No. 7,923,790, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

In step 222, deposited getter layer 334 may be optionally masked andpatterned by reactive ion etching (RIE), ion milling, lift off, or anyof a variety of other etching or patterning techniques for purposes oflimiting the extent of getter layer 334 to areas of first cavity 320 andsecond cavity 324, and/or to prevent electrical coupling of getter layer334 with underlying devices formed on or in MEMS region/structural layer315 (e.g., such as inductors).

After optional deposition and patterning of gas getter layer 334, anoxide hard mask layer (e.g., SiO₂ or other suitable hard mask material)may be deposited in step 224 (e.g., by plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition) and then patterned (e.g., by photolithography and resist) instep 226 to create a hard mask used to etch a mold into the secondsacrificial layer in step 228 for forming microshell support latticemembers 360 upon later deposition of upper microshell layer 350 asfurther illustrated and described with regard to FIG. 4.

Next, an upper microshell layer is deposited in step 230 over the firstand second sacrificial layers and the getter layer 334 to create anupper microshell layer structure 350 as illustrated in FIG. 3. The uppermicroshell layer may in one embodiment be a silicon germanium (SiGe)material layer that is deposited by a low-pressure chemical vapordeposition (LPCVD) or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)process to a thickness of from about 1 μm to about 2 μm at locationsother than at support lattice members 360 which are described furtherbelow. However, it will be understood that any other suitable materialsuitable for forming an upper microshell layer having the desiredcharacteristics for a given application may alternatively be formed overthe first and second sacrificial layers. Examples of such microshelllayer characteristics include, but are not limited to, relatively lowprocessing thermal budget, hermicity of formed microshell layer,conductivity of microshell layer for transducer applications or toprovide a Faraday cage to isolate underlying devices fromelectromagnetic interference, transparence to one or more radiationwavelengths such as infrared radiation for underlying sensors, etc.Specific examples of other suitable types of upper microshell materialsinclude, but are not limited to, nitride, titanium aluminide (TiAl),tungsten, etc. Moreover, thickness of upper microshell layer 350 mayvary according to the needs of a given application, e.g., formed to begreater than 2 μm or less than 1 μm in other possible embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of the underside(e.g., interior cavity side) of an upper microshell layer structure 350as it may be formed to include microshell support lattice members 360using steps 224 to 228 previously described. In the illustratedembodiment microshell support lattice members 360 have been formed tocreate an array of square or rectangle cavity sections 330 after removalof the second sacrificial layer from these sections. However, it will beunderstood that any other configuration of support lattice members maybe formed that are suitable for creating other cavity section shapesthat are adequate to optimize robustness, stiffness, surface to volumeratio and/or manufacturability. Examples of other such cavity sectionshapes include, but are not limited to, hexagonal, triangular,disk-shaped, octagonal, etc. As may be seen in FIG. 3, the secondsacrificial layer may be patterned to result in a deposited microshelllayer 350 having support lattice members 360 that terminate above (anddo not contact) MEMS structural layer 315. Rather, the secondsacrificial layer may be patterned such that the deposited microshelllayer 350 contacts MEMS structural layer 315 at the peripheral edgesaround cavity sections 330 to suspend the microshell layer 350 and itslattice members 360 over interior cavity sections 330.

In one exemplary embodiment, a second sacrificial layer having athickness of from about 5 μm to about 20 μm may be deposited atrelatively low temperature, and patterned to allow a relatively thinmicroshell layer 350 to be deposited over the sacrificial layer having athickness of from about 1 μm to about 2 μm at locations of the layer 350between the downwardly suspended lattice members 360. Due to therelatively larger thickness of the second sacrificial layer, the secondsacrificial layer may be patterned to result in a relatively thickerlayer of material 350 at the location of the support lattice members 360as shown. Thus, in one exemplary embodiment, the microshell layer 350may be formed with support lattice members 360 having a thickness thatis just less than or equal to the overall thickness of the secondsacrificial layer before etching (e.g., from less than or equal to about5 μm to less than or equal to about 20 μm). In one exemplary embodiment,a gap between the base of support lattice members 360 and top ofstructural layer 315 that is equal to the thickness of the firstsacrificial layer, e.g., from about 0.5 μm to about 1 μm. In oneembodiment, width (horizontal side-to-side) of individual supportlattice members 360 may be less than about twice the thickness ofmicroshell layer 350 as it is measured between the support latticemembers 360.

Advantageously, support lattice members 360 may be provided in oneexemplary embodiment to strengthen a relatively thin (e.g., about 1 μmto about 2 μm) overlying microshell layer 350 and, in one embodiment, toimpart a strength to such an overlying thin microshell layer 350 that issubstantially the same as the strength of a relatively thickermicroshell layer that has an overall shell thickness that is equivalentto the thickness of the support lattice members 360. In one embodiment,spacing between adjacent individual lattice members 360 may be selectedto provide sufficient strength against downward compressional force tomeet the needs of given applications, e.g., so at to resist orsubstantially prevent deflection of microshell layer 350 towardunderlying structural layer 315 under anticipated compressional forcesfor a given application, or so as to limit deflection of microshelllayer 350 toward underlying structural layer 315 to a pre-determinedamount under anticipated compressional forces of a given application.

Moreover, deposition of a thicker second sacrificial layer may becarried out at relatively lower temperatures than deposition of athicker microshell layer, and deposition of a thinner microshell layer350 may be carried out using elevated temperatures for a shorterduration of time than required for deposition of a thicker microshelllayer, the latter of which may be incompatible with thermal budget ofthe process flow and/or more costly. Thus, a relatively thin microshelllayer 350 having a relatively lower thermal budget (i.e.,. shortermicroshell deposition time at elevated temperature) may be fabricatedwith support lattice members 360 to have substantially the same strengthas a thicker microshell layer that requires a higher thermal budget(i.e., greater microshell deposition time at elevated temperature).Moreover, in transducer sensor embodiments, a relatively thin overlyingupper microshell layer 350 allows for improved sensor sensitivity whilethe support lattice members 360 allow relatively large volume maincavity sections 330 to be formed under the thin microshell layerstructure 350, which provide for greater sensor robustness (e.g.,increased vacuum stability against environmental effects) due toincreased volume allocated for vacuum space in main cavity sections 330.

Deposited upper microshell layer 350 may then be masked and patterned byetching in step 232 to create release holes 380 as shown in FIG. 3,followed by a two-step release process in step 234. In particular, step234 may include performance of a first etch step process to remove bothfirst and second sacrificial layers to create first cavity portions 320,open areas 323, and main cavity sections 330 shown in FIG. 3. Step 234may also include a second etch step (e.g., using hydrogen peroxide) toremove existing sacrificial germanium MEMS release layer in areas 382 ofthe MEMS region of structure 102, e.g., beneath selected areas of MEMSstructural layer 315 to release MEMS devices formed therein. At the endof this second step release etch, an optional hydrogen fluoride etch maybe performed to remove any oxide-based protective layer that has beenformed over residual gas getter layer 334 to expose interior surfaces ofgetter layer 334 so that it may contact and scavenge or otherwise removecontaminants from open areas 320, 323 and main cavity sections 330.

Following step 234, the now empty microshell cavity sections 330 maythen be vacuum sealed in step 236 with a hermetic sealing layer 390. Inone embodiment, sealing layer 390 may be comprised of any material orcombination of materials suitable for providing hermicity and that isalso compatible with low temperature BEOL IC processing. Examples ofsuitable materials for forming sealing layer 390 include, but are notlimited to, metals such as aluminum, tungsten, copper, titanium, andtheir alloys. In one exemplary embodiment, sealing layer 390 may be ametal layer that is formed in a vacuum environment using a metalphysical vapor deposition tool. Alternative or additional materials thatmay be employed for sealing layer 390 include non-metals such as SiGe,etc. Moreover, a sealing layer 390 may also comprise multiple metaland/or non-metal layers of different materials. In one embodiment, layer390 may be an uppermost level of interconnect forming pad structuresand/or edge seals, etc. that are typical of an IC (for example metallevel nine of a nine level metal BEOL IC process).

In any case, sealing layer 390 (e.g., aluminum or other suitablemetal/s) may be formed to seal the release holes 380 in the microshell,trapping the existing process vacuum level in the cavity sections 330,e.g., above MEMS device/s formed in the underlying MEMS structural layer315. This is illustrated in FIG. 3 where release hole 380 is shownfilled with sealing layer 390. In one exemplary embodiment, design andlayout may be further selected such that the metal deposition of layer390 also serves to self-align into pad regions, thus connecting theelectrical pads without requiring additional masking step/s asillustrated by pad structure 108, which is illustrated in further detailin relation to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, pad structure 108 includes a conductive pad 504 thathas been formed by shadow mask deposition of conductive sealing layer/s390 within pad region 502. In this case, the underlying opening of padregion 502 down to metallization layer 307 may be previously formed byMEMS sacrificial and contact patterning step 208, MEMS pad open step210, and subsequent sacrificial and microshell patterning steps 214, 218and 232. Thus, self-aligned conductive pad 504 may be then formed byshadow mask deposition of conductive sealing layer 390 after microshellpatterning step 232 and release step 234 to connect the electrical padswithout the need for additional mask or patterning steps.

When forming vacuum encapsulated device structure 102, process flow 200Amay proceed directly to step 244 where wafer level testing may beperformed. However, one or more other additional steps may be optionallyperformed after step 236 to additionally or alternatively form otherdevice structures where desired, such as trapped sacrificial structure104 (e.g., for relative humidity sensor) and/or membrane transducerstructure 106 of FIG. 1.

For example, FIG. 6 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of a membranetransducer structure 106 that may be formed for a capacitivemicromachined ultrasonic transducer “CMUT”, in part, by incorporatingoptional step 238 together with optional step 208 of process flow 200A.As shown in FIG. 6, transducer contacts 616 and optional lowertransducer capacitor plate 612 have been patterned from MEMS layer 315and its underlying sacrificial release layer during optional step 208.During steps 212-214, the first and second sacrificial layers have beenpatterned such that upper microshell layer 350 forms a transducermembrane 610 that overlies an open area 321 equivalent to the thicknessof the first sacrificial layer above lower transducer plate 612. In thisregard, the second sacrificial layer may be removed in step 218 so thatthe upper microshell layer 350 is deposited in step 230 directly overthe first sacrificial layer, which is subsequently removed to form openarea 321 during two-step release step 234. In one exemplary embodiment,a release hole patterning mask may be used to define compliant supportstructures at release holes 380 on the sides of the membrane, and/or touse the sealing material in release hole areas 380 as anchors to lowerlevel layer 315.

During optional step 238, the sealing layer 390 may be masked andpatterned to form a transducer opening 695 that exposes an upper surfaceof the transducer membrane 610 to the ambient environment above themembrane transducer structure 106. As shown, the exposed transducermembrane 610 is now suspended between a pair of electrically-coupledtransducer contacts 616 patterned from MEMS layer 315 in step 208 toprovide electrical interconnection to metallization 307 of a circuitry670 in the IC region through conductive vias 680. Similar conductivevias 681 may also be provided to electrically couple the lowertransducer plate 612 to complementary metallization 307 of a circuitry671 in the IC region such that relative capacitance between transducermembrane 610 and lower transducer plate 612 may be measured astransducer membrane 610 flexes closer and further away from lowertransducer plate 612 due to external stimulus, e.g., such as varyingpressure. In another embodiment, a relatively thinner conductive lowertransducer plate 612 (e.g., SiGe) may be formed within a relativelythicker area of dielectric material layer 317 that may be left beneathtransducer membrane 610, e.g., relatively thin conductive lowertransducer plate 612 may be formed on a top surface of dielectricmaterial layer 317 so that it is embedded within, and exposed at, a topsurface of a relatively thicker dielectric material layer portion 317and coupled to circuitry 671 with conductive vias.

In an optional embodiment, selected area/s of second sacrificial layermay be left during steps 212-214 on top of the first sacrificial area inthe area of transducer membrane 610 (e.g., only at one or more outeredges of transducer membrane 610). These selected area/s of secondsacrificial layer material may be left such that the deposited uppermicroshell layer 350 (together with optional getter layer 334 wherepresent) forms one or more peripheral out-of-plane decouplingstructure/s 621 (e.g., such as upwardly extending hinge structure'sshown in dashed outline in FIG. 6) over the remaining area/s of thesecond sacrificial layer as an alternative to formation of in-planeportions of transducer membrane 610 in these peripheral area/s. Asshown, the out-of-plane decoupling structure/s 621 may be formed aroundan in-plane central portion 623 of the transducer membrane 210 that isformed by deposited microshell layer 350 over first sacrificial materialin those areas where no second sacrificial material is left remainingduring steps 212-214. First and second sacrificial materials beneath thetransducer membrane 610 may then be subsequently removed during two-steprelease step 234 to form open areas 620 under out-of-plane decouplingstructures 621 (e.g., similar to main cavity sections 330 of FIG. 3 thatinclude combined cavity portions 320 and 324) that are contiguous withopen area 321 under central portion 623 of the transducer membrane 610as shown. Where optional out-of-plane structures 621 are so formed,sealing layer 390 may be optionally masked and patterned to form atransducer opening 695 of sufficient size and dimension to allowoptional decoupling structures 621 to extend upward through thetransducer opening 695, although in other embodiments sealing layer 390may be left over at least a portion of decoupling structures 621.

In one embodiment, one or more out-of-plane decoupling structure's 621may be optionally formed to help relieve in plane stress for morepredictable parametric behavior and increased design flexibility, andfurther to decouple the membrane 610 from package induced stress so asto increase robustness against temperature variation and offset drift.In one example, four separate out-of-plane structure/s 621 may be formedto be equally spaced around central portion 623 of a circular-shaped,square-shaped or rectangular-shaped membrane transducer 610, e.g., oneach of four sides (e.g., in North-South-East-West orientedrelationship) around the periphery of the central portion 623, althoughother shapes of membrane transducers 610 and other numbers and/orarrangement of out-of-plane structures 621 may be employed. In oneembodiment, out-of-plane stiffness may remain relatively unchanged toretain sensing properties, while the hinge/s or other decouplingstructure/s 621 formed by the conformal deposition on top of the thicksecond sacrificial layer adds a degree of freedom in the plane torelieve in plane stresses.

Examples of membrane transducer types that may be fabricated in thismanner include, but are not limited to, pressure sensors, microphones,capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs), lightmodulators, etc. It will be understood that any suitable capacitancemeasurement circuitry configuration and methodology known in the art maybe implemented within the IC region for measuring the changingcapacitance between transducer membrane 610 and lower transducer plate612, e.g., such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,167, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a trapped sacrificial structure 104(e.g., for a relative humidity sensor) that may be formed, in part, byperforming optional step 240 during process flow 200A of FIG. 2A. Asshown in FIG. 7, MEMS structural layer 315 has been formed in earliersteps 204-210 to include electrode openings 710 (e.g., formed bypatterning of MEMS structural level 315 in step 208) that extend throughMEMS layer 315 as shown. As further shown, first sacrificial material702 and second sacrificial material 704 are each trapped within filledcavity section 730 beneath upper microshell layer 350, and are notremoved during two-step release process of step 234 e.g., due toselective presence of intervening structural features and/or selectivesacrificial and etchant material selection. In one embodiment, firstsacrificial layer 702 may be a polyimide and second sacrificial layer704 may be polyimide. In one embodiment, first sacrificial layer 702and/or second sacrificial layer 704 may be a humidity-sensitivepolyimide or may be any other humidity sensitive sacrificial materialthat absorbs water moisture from the surrounding atmosphere and thatexhibits different dielectric properties corresponding to the amount ofwater that the material has absorbed.

As further shown in FIG. 7 a humidity sensor structure may be formed inone exemplary embodiment by removing sacrificial material from beneathMEMS structure layer 315 and from within MEMS electrode openings 710(e.g., during second germanium etch step of step 234 to also removesacrificial material remaining in openings 710 after first etch step ofstep 234) to provide access for ambient atmosphere to contact acapacitor dielectric structure formed by the polyimide or other typehumidity-sensitive first sacrificial layer/s 702 and 704. In step 240,second microshell layer 350 and sealing layer 390 may be masked andpatterned by etching to create aligned or offset vent hole/s or otherinlet openings 715 to provide an access path for ambient atmospherefluid (e.g., ambient air containing water molecules) to enter thecontiguous open area/s 382 beneath MEMS structure layer 315 so that theambient atmosphere fluid may travel from a given vent hole or inletopening 715 through a contiguous open area path 382 around conductivevias 780 and 781, and then up through electrode openings 710 to contactthe underside of trapped first polyimide layer 702 through electrodeopenings 710. As shown the inlet openings 715 may be created outside (orlaterally offset from) the outer periphery of the capacitor dielectricstructure formed by the first sacrificial layer 702 and secondsacrificial layer 704. It will be understood that the illustratedembodiment of FIG. 7 having inlet opening defined through dielectriclayer 317 (e.g., dielectric material 317 having selective sacrificialand etchant material properties relative to other layers as needed foruse in the area of release hole 380 and inlet 715) is exemplary only,and that in other embodiments an inlet opening 715 may be defined in arelease hole area 380 through sealing material layer 390 and anunderlying structural layer 315, rather than dielectric layer 317 whichis not present in the area of release hole 380 in such an alternativeembodiment.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, relative humidity sensor structure 104 maybe configured to sense relative humidity by using MEMS structural layer315 as an electrode for parallel plate capacitance measurement of thealteration of the dielectric properties of the first sacrificial layerpolyimide layer 702 due to absorbed water from ambient gas that haspenetrated microshell layer 350 through inlet openings 715 and migratedunder MEMS structural layer 315 to contact first sacrificial layer 702through electrode openings 710 as previously described. In one exemplaryembodiment, inlet openings 715 and inlet access through a correspondingpackage hole may be placed away from the effective sensor to allow thedecoupling of the sensor size from the package hole size. Since thepackage hole size determines how small the die and the package can be, asmall hole size can help reduce the effective die size without affectingthe effective area of the RH sensor. Isolating the sensor from the inletis also beneficial for robustness and long term stability of the device,e.g., no exposure to mechanical parts during packaging, and no exposureto dust or contaminants during life time of the part.

Advantageously, as illustrated in FIG. 7 the process of FIG. 2A may beadapted (e.g., using optional step 240) to leverage the presence of thesacrificial polyimide in layer 702 as well as the MEMS structural layer315 as first capacitor plate and upper microshell layer 350 as a secondcapacitor plate to form a parallel plate capacitive sensor thatsandwiches humidity-sensitive polyimide material 702 that has beentrapped within filled cavity section 730 during the process sequence. Asshown, the second capacitor plate formed from upper microshell layer 350above the capacitor dielectric structure may be electrically-coupledthrough conductive vias 780 to metallization 307 of a circuitry 770 inthe IC region. Similar conductive vias 781 may also be provided toelectrically couple the first capacitor plate formed from MEMSstructural layer 315 to complementary metallization 307 of a circuitry771 such that the changing relative capacitance of the capacitordielectric structure between the upper and lower capacitor plates may bemeasured with changing relative humidity of ambient air that entersthrough inlet opening/s 715.

It will be understood that any suitable capacitance measurementcircuitry configuration and methodology known in the art may beimplemented within the IC region for measuring the changing relativecapacitance of the capacitor dielectric structure between the upper andlower capacitor plates. Just one example of such known techniques andcircuitry may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,007,167, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. Moreover, it will also beunderstood that by selection of appropriate capacitor dielectricmaterials a similar capacitive sensor structural arrangement may beemployed to measure any other changing parameter of an ambientatmosphere fluid that enters inlet hole/s 715 and that affectscapacitance of a capacitor dielectric structure formed between the upperand lower capacitor plates.

In one embodiment, a stacked parallel plate capacitor—based sensor maybe fabricated that offers higher density of capacitance and highersensitivity to dielectric constant changes than fringing field basedsensors. In one exemplary embodiment, a second matched capacitorstructure 104 may also be encapsulated in the same process to provide areference that is not exposed to humidity variation so as to allow apseudo differential measurement. This may be accomplished, for example,by not forming electrode openings 710 in MEMS structural layer 315beneath a capacitor dielectric structure of the second matched capacitorstructure, i.e., so that the capacitor dielectric structure is fullyencapsulated and sealed between the MEMS structural layer 315 and theupper microshell layer 350. The second matched capacitor structure mayotherwise be of the same dimensions and configuration as a firstcapacitor structure having underlying electrode openings 710 in fluidcommunication with the ambient atmosphere such as illustrated in FIG. 7.

It will be understood that FIG. 2A is exemplary only, and thatadditional, fewer, and/or alternative steps may be employed as needed ordesired to fit a given fabrication application. For example, FIG. 2Billustrates one exemplary embodiment of an alternative process flow 200Bthat omits steps 224, 226 and 228 so as to form a single structurallayer microshell structure that does not include microshell supportlattice members 360, and is therefore more flexible. In one exemplaryembodiment, a relatively thicker and more flexible microshell structurallayer 350 may be deposited in step 230 of process flow 200B than isdeposited in corresponding step 230 of process flow 200A in order tocompensate for the absence of microshell support lattice members 360,e.g., to achieve a stronger microshell layer over a vacuum cavitywithout the presence of microshell support lattice members 360.

FIG. 2C illustrates one exemplary embodiment of process flow 200C forforming a dual structural layer microshell such as illustrated by thevacuum encapsulated device structure 802 of FIG. 8. As shown, processflow 200C of FIG. 2C includes steps 202-214, which may be performed in amanner similar to the same steps of process flow 200A of FIG. 2A.However, additional steps 290-292 are performed to deposit and pattern alower microshell layer 850 as shown in FIG. 8 after deposition andpatterning of the first sacrificial layer previously described inrelation to steps 212-214 of the process flow 200A of FIG. 2A. Inparticular, a lower microshell layer is deposited in step 290 over thefirst sacrificial layer to create a lower microshell layer structure 850as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The lower (or inner) microshell layer may in one embodiment be a silicongermanium (SiGe) material layer that is deposited by a LPCVD or PECVDprocess to a thickness of from about 0.5 μm to about 2 μm. However, itwill be understood that any other suitable material suitable for forminga lower microshell layer 850 having the characteristics to fit a givenapplication (e.g., good selectivity to release and/or sacrificialetchants, electrical conductivity, etc.) may alternatively be formedover the first sacrificial layer. Examples of other suitable types oflower microshell materials include, but are not limited to, nitride,titanium aluminide (TiAl), tungsten, oxide, nitride, TiAl, germanium,multi-layer (metal stack), etc. Moreover, thickness of lower microshelllayer 850 may vary according to the needs of a given application, e.g.,formed to be greater than 2 μm or less than 0.5 μm in other possibleembodiments.

Next, in step 292, the lower microshell layer 850 may be masked andpatterned to form offset (i.e., non-overlapping and staggered) releaseholes 980 in lower microshell structure layer 850 as illustrated inFIGS. 9A-9B. As shown, release holes 980 may be patterned to be offsetfrom release holes 380 that are subsequently formed in upper microshelllayer 350 in step 232. In one embodiment, release holes 980 may beoffset from release holes 380 with a minimum spacing of about twice thethickness of lower microshell structure layer 850 up to a maximumspacing that is limited by the etch rate of layer 850. In one exemplaryembodiment, release holes 980 may be offset from release holes 380 byabout 2 μm to about 10 μm, although release holes 980 may be offset fromrelease holes 380 by a distance greater than about 2 μm or a distance oflesser than about 10 μm in other embodiments. In this “fast release”embodiment, upper release holes 380 and lower release holes 980 togetherform an etchant travel path (e.g., during step 234) through therespective upper microshell layer 350 and lower microshell 850 duringrelease of a MEMS structural device formed in MEMS structure layer 315beneath lower microshell 850. Downward entry of etchant into upperrelease holes 380 is illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 9B.

In one exemplary embodiment, the lower release holes 980 may be definedto be laterally closer to a structural device formed in MEMS structurelayer 315 beneath microshell layer 850 so as to minimize the lateraletchant travel distance between the lower release holes 980 and thestructural device, while at the same time the upper release holes may bedefined to be laterally further from the structural device so as toprovide the ability to seal the overall structure with sealing materiallayer 390 (e.g., during sealing layer sputter deposition in step 236)without risk of depositing the sealing material 390 through the lowerrelease holes 980 in critical device areas on or near the releasedstructural device. In this regard, depending on particular sacrificialetch rates and selectivity, a long undercut beneath MEMS structure layer315 from the periphery of a structural device may not be possible, andtherefore the offset lower release holes 980 of this embodiment may beadvantageously placed laterally closer to the device to reduce theundercut distance. In one embodiment, filled cavity sections 830 may beultimately formed as shown in FIG. 8 between upper microshell layer 350and lower microshell layer 850. In such an embodiment, no release holescontiguous to the cavity sections 830 are patterned in upper and/orlower microshell layers 350/850, such that cavity sections 830 remainfilled with second sacrificial material that is not removed in step 234.

In one exemplary embodiment, first sacrificial material 702 may beremoved as shown (e.g., in step 234) to form open areas 320 and 323between lower microshell layer 850 and MEMS structure layer 315. In analternate embodiment that is similar to the process described inrelation to FIG. 7, first sacrificial material 702 may not be removedfrom beneath lower microshell layer 850, e.g., so as to leave areas 320and/or 323 filled with trapped first sacrificial material between lowermicroshell layer 850 and MEMS structure layer 315. As described inrelation to FIG. 7, intervening structural features may be formed orotherwise defined to prevent removal of first sacrificial material 702during etching of step 234 by closing off any existing etchant path fromrelease holes 380 to at least a portion of a first sacrificial materiallayer 702, e.g., by closing off or not forming release holes 980 of FIG.9 that would otherwise communicate etchant to this trapped portion offirst sacrificial material 702. In such an alternate embodiment, atrapped sacrificial structure of humidity-sensitive first sacrificiallayer 702 may be formed beneath lower microshell layer 850 and aboveMEMS structure layer 315 and may be implemented as a capacitordielectric structure for a relative humidity sensor in a manner similarto that described in relation to FIG. 7, with the exception that lowermicroshell layer 850 is configured in this case as a second capacitorplate that together forms a parallel plate capacitive sensor with thefirst capacitor plate of

MEMS structure layer 315 by sandwiching humidity-sensitive polyimidematerial 702 therebetween. Otherwise similar processing steps asdescribed in relation to FIG. 7 may be employed, i.e., to form electrodeopenings 710 in MEMS structural layer 315 and open area/s 382 beneathMEMS structure layer 315, together with vent hole/s or other inletopenings 715 to provide an access path for ambient atmosphere to enterthe contiguous open area/s 382 beneath MEMS structure layer 315 so thatit may travel to contact the underside of trapped first polyimide layer702 through the electrode openings 710.

FIG. 2D illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a process flow 200Dfor forming a dual structural layer microshell that is similar to theprocess flow 200C of

FIG. 2C, with the exception that step 292 for patterning the offsetinner release holes is omitted. In this “edge release” embodiment,release holes are located on the edge/s of the formed structural devicerather than at inner locations.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment in which two or more trappedsacrificial material structures 1004 may be formed together as a spacerstructure 1050 around a relatively fragile or sensitive area 1010 of asemiconductor device die 1090, such as a membrane transducer structure106 of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 10, first sacrificial material 702 andsecond sacrificial material 704 are each trapped within filled cavitysection 730 beneath upper microshell layer 350, and are not removedduring two-step release process of step 234 in a manner similar to thatdescribed in relation to FIG. 7.

Spacer structure 1050 may be useful, for example, in combination withsensors device structures such as environmental sensors (e.g., humidity,pressure, temperature), acoustic sensors, optical sensors and chemicalsensors that require an opening in a fabricated package to act as aninlet for light, liquid, vapor, and/or gas toward the underlying sensordevice of die 1090. Such a sensor opening is usually achieved using apackage molding process that employs high pressure contact with the dieusing a tool 1020 that pulls a vacuum on the die and can crack the dieand/or damage the sensor of the fragile/sensitive area 1010. As shown inFIG. 10, multiple trapped sacrificial material structures 1004 may bespaced apart by an amount suitable for acting as a stand-off to space orseparate the molding tool 1020 from the fragile/sensitive area 1010 whenthe tool 1020 mechanically contacts the die during the molding step,thus improving manufacturability due to improved alignment tolerances.

As used herein, a layer or other structure/feature that is formed over asubstrate includes a given layer or other structure/feature that isdisposed over and in direct contact with an underlying substratematerial (e.g., a semiconductor wafer material) as well as a given layeror other structure/feature that is not disposed in direct contact withan underlying substrate material but that is instead disposed over oneor more intervening layers or other structures/features (e.g., such asintervening cavities, metal layers, and/or insulative layers) that aredisposed between the given layer or other structure/feature and thesubstrate such that the given layer or other structure/feature does notdirectly contact the underlying substrate. Thus the term “over” connotesboth direct overlying contact with an underlying layer or otherstructure/feature, as well as a non-contacting overlying relationshipwith an underlying layer or other structure/feature, e.g., with one ormore intervening layers or other structures/features disposedtherebetween. Likewise, the term “under” connotes both direct underlyingcontact with an overlying layer or other structure/feature, as well as anon-contacting underlying relationship with an overlying layer or otherstructure/feature, e.g., with one or more intervening layers or otherstructures/features disposed therebetween.

While the invention may be adaptable to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample and described herein. However, it should be understood that theinvention is not intended to be limited to the particular formsdisclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the differentaspects of the disclosed methods and structures may be utilized invarious combinations and/or independently. Thus the invention is notlimited to only those combinations shown herein, but rather may includeother combinations.

1. A method of forming a microshell structure, comprising: forming afirst sacrificial layer over a MEMS region and an underlying substrate,and removing a part of the first sacrificial layer to leave one or moreremaining portions of the first sacrificial layer; forming a secondsacrificial layer over the remaining portions of the first sacrificiallayer, and removing a part of the second sacrificial layer to leave oneor more remaining portions of the second sacrificial layer over at leasta part of the remaining portions of the first sacrificial layer; formingan upper microshell layer over the remaining portions of the first andsecond sacrificial layers; creating one or more upper release holes inthe upper microshell layer; removing at least a part of the remainingportions of the first and/or second sacrificial layers through the upperrelease holes to form one or more open cavities or open areas under theupper microshell layer; and forming a sealing layer on the uppermicroshell layer to seal the upper release holes in the upper microshelllayer.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming the secondsacrificial layer to be thicker than the first sacrificial layer.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising removing a part of the secondsacrificial layer that is over the first sacrificial layer to leave oneor more remaining portions of the first sacrificial layer that are notoverlain by the second sacrificial layer.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: forming a lower microshell layer over the remainingportions of the first sacrificial layer; creating one or more lowerrelease holes in the lower microshell layer; forming the secondsacrificial layer over the lower microshell layer and the remainingportions of the first sacrificial layer, and removing a part of thesecond sacrificial layer to leave one or more remaining portions of thesecond sacrificial layer over the lower microshell layer and at least apart of the remaining portions of the first sacrificial layer; formingthe upper microshell layer over the remaining portions of the firstsacrificial layer, the lower microshell layer, and the remainingportions of the second sacrificial layer; removing at least a part ofthe remaining portions of the first and/or second sacrificial layersthrough the upper and/or lower release holes to form one or more opencavities or open areas under the upper microshell layer; and forming asealing layer on the upper microshell layer to seal the upper releaseholes in the upper microshell layer.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: removing at least a part of the remaining portions of thefirst sacrificial layer through the upper and lower release holes toform one or more open cavities or open areas under the upper and lowermicroshell layers; and not removing at least a part of the remainingportions of the second sacrificial layer so as to form a filled cavitysection between the upper microshell layer and the lower microshelllayer.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising forming the lowerrelease holes to be laterally offset from the upper release holes. 7.The method of claim 6, further comprising: forming the MEMS region toinclude a MEMS structural layer defining one or MEMS devices over a MEMSrelease layer prior to forming the first sacrificial layer over the MEMSregion; and removing the MEMS release layer through the upper and lowerrelease holes in one or more areas beneath the MEMS structural layer torelease the MEMS devices formed therein following the step of removingat least a part of the remaining portions of the first and/or secondsacrificial layers through the upper and/or lower release holes to formone or more open cavities or open areas under the upper microshell layerand prior to forming the sealing layer on the upper microshell layer toseal the upper release holes in the upper microshell layer.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising forming a residual gas getterlayer over the remaining portions of the first and second sacrificiallayers prior to removing at least a part of the remaining portions ofthe first and/or second sacrificial layers through the upper releaseholes to form one or more open cavities or open areas under the uppermicroshell layer.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising formingthe second sacrificial layer over and in contact with the remainingportions of the first sacrificial layer, and removing a part of thesecond sacrificial layer to leave one or more remaining portions of thesecond sacrificial layer overlying and in contact with at least a partof the remaining portions of the first sacrificial layer.
 10. The methodof claim 9, further comprising removing a part of the second sacrificiallayer to leave one or more portions of the second sacrificial layeroverlying and in contact with one or more portions of the firstsacrificial layer.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingremoving the one or more portions of the second sacrificial layertogether with one or more underlying portions of the first sacrificiallayer through the upper release holes to form at least one open maincavity section under the upper microshell layer prior to forming asealing layer on the upper microshell layer to seal the upper releaseholes in the upper microshell layer.
 12. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising leaving the one or more portions of the second sacrificiallayer together with and in contact with the one or more underlyingportions of the first sacrificial layer to form at least one filled maincavity section under the upper microshell layer prior to forming asealing layer on the upper microshell layer to seal the upper releaseholes in the upper microshell layer.
 13. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising forming a mold for one or more microshell support latticemembers that extend downward into the remaining portions of the secondsacrificial layer and terminate above the remaining portions of thefirst sacrificial layer prior to forming the upper microshell layer overthe remaining portions of the first and second sacrificial layers; andforming the upper microshell layer to fill the mold within the remainingportions of the second sacrificial layer to create one or moremicroshell support lattice members that extend downward from anunderside of the upper microshell layer.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising removing remaining portions of the first and secondsacrificial layers through the upper release holes to form at least oneopen cavity under the upper microshell layer that is surrounded byperipheral edges with the microshell support lattice members extendingdownward into the open cavity from the underside of the upper microshelllayer to terminate above the MEMS region without contacting the MEMSregion and with the upper microshell layer contacting the MEMS region atthe peripheral edges of the open cavity so as to suspend the uppermicroshell layer and microshell support lattice members over the opencavity.
 15. The method of claim 14, where the mold defines a pattern ofmultiple microshell support lattice members between the peripheral edgesof the open cavity; and where the method further comprises removingremaining portions of the first and second sacrificial layers throughthe upper release holes to form an array of open cavity sections definedby the microshell support lattice members under the upper microshelllayer.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming the MEMSregion to include a MEMS structural layer defining one or MEMS devicesover a MEMS release layer prior to forming the first sacrificial layerover the MEMS region; and removing the MEMS release layer through theupper release holes in one or more areas beneath the MEMS structurallayer to release the MEMS devices formed therein following the step ofremoving at least a part of the remaining portions of the first and/orsecond sacrificial layers through the upper release holes to form one ormore open cavities or open areas under the upper microshell layer andprior to forming the sealing layer on the upper microshell layer to sealthe upper release holes in the upper microshell layer.
 17. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: forming the MEMS region to include ametallization layer under an electrically insulative material layer anda MEMS structural layer above the electrically insulative materiallayer; forming a pad region with a pad opening to the metallizationlayer through the MEMS structural layer and the electrically insulativematerial prior to the step of forming the first sacrificial layer overthe MEMS region; removing the first sacrificial layer and secondsacrificial layer within the pad region prior to forming the uppermicroshell layer; forming an opening through the upper microshell layerover the pad region to the MEMS metallization layer; and forming thesealing layer by shadow mask deposition of a conductive sealing layer tocontact the metallization layer of the MEMS region through the padopening and form a conductive electrical pad. 18-26. (canceled)